BUPROPION AS AN ANTISMOKING AID

Course overview

Course Objectives: 1.Describe the efficacy of bupropion as compared with nicotine replacement therapy 2.Name the main side effects of bupropion including the most serious one 3.Discern whether bupropion helps more in patients with depression or not 4.Name the drugs that interact with bupropion and should not be taken together. 5.Know of it is appropriate to take nicotine replacement therapy products with bupropion 6.Know quit rates and compliance rates after 1-year post treatment of bupropion 7.Compare the efficacy of bupropion as compared to nicotine replacement therapy 8.Know statistics for nicotine dependence in the US 9.Know what a patient should be counseled in regards to mood changes while on bupropion 10.Know what to counsel patients in case of relapse after the treatment program Cigarette smoking is the largest cause of premature death in many countries. Almost half of all smokers tend to die prematurely of cigarettes and if this continues, within the next 50 years there will be 450 million deaths worldwide due to cigarette smoking. 55% of Americans have tried smoking and approximately 23% of Americans are current smokers and 30% are ex-smokers. Interestingly enough, the rate of smoking in the US population decreased from 42% in 1965 to 25% in 1990, and that rate of decline decreased markedly since 1990. About 20% of all Americans meet criteria for nicotine dependence and 50 to 60% among smokers meet criteria for nicotine dependence. It is more prevalent in persons with mental disorders such as mood disorders and schizophrenia. About 55 to 90% of those with a mental disorder also smoke compared with the rest of the US population. Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in this country. It causes the most cancer-related deaths and also deaths from lung cancer, laryngeal and mouth cancer, and bladder cancer. It also may cause heart disease, stroke, and COPD and costs over $157 billion in annual related costs.